Palace defeat sees Man United reach new depths in Premier League

LONDON – This is the worst season Manchester United has ever had in the Premier League. And Crystal Palace helped push them down that bleak path by defeating Erik ten Hag’s side with a completely dominant 4-0 win at Selhurst Park on Monday.

The hosts exploited their injured opponents, destroyed their new-look combinations and at times played with them like a cat playing with a piece of rope. They comfortably defeated the beleaguered Ten Hag team thanks to a performance of wonderful attacking ruthlessness led by their brilliant front trio of Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Ten Hag has been battling a growing injury list at United this season, with Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay joining the absent contingent in the build-up to this trip to south London. Their absences meant Casemiro and Jonny Evans became the 14th different centre-back combination introduced by Ten Hag this season as he looked to paper over the cracks.

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But Evans and Casemiro looked lost and were no match for the movement and genius of their confident and creative opponents. Olise finished with two (Palace’s first and fourth) and could have had more. Mateta scored a brilliant goal in the first half and Tyrick Mitchell scored another in the second half.

The autopsy will be brutal from Manchester United’s perspective. If you ever see referee Jarred Gillet’s “Ref-Cam” footage again, then it will provide a great alternative to the “Blair Witch Project.” It’s hard to point out one area where they fell apart: it was a comprehensive capitulation. And few had more difficulties than the experienced Casemiro, who had a terrible game. He was completely lost for Palace’s first goal through Olise, and then guilty of having the ball caught for the second and fourth goals.

But their struggles simply fell into place in what seemed like a moment – an embarrassment that could hasten action at the end of the season by United’s new minority owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. This was undoubtedly the lowest point of a bad campaign. There is long-standing uncertainty over Ten Hag’s future at the club – there is no backing forthcoming from new bosses – and although United still have an FA Cup final to look forward to, this was a brutal reality check.

It was United’s 13th defeat in the Premier League this season, setting a new unwanted club record, surpassing the 12 defeats they conceded in the 2013-14 and 2021-22 campaigns. And after a weekend in which both Newcastle United and Chelsea won convincingly, this defeat keeps them in eighth place, which would be their worst result in the Premier League era. On the other hand, this victory marked the first time that Palace achieved the league double over Manchester United after winning 1-0 in the first leg in September. The Eagles are flying.

“This has been the fourth defeat in 2024 so far,” Ten Hag said after the match. “You’ve always seen a team that followed a script, we had a lot of wins and we were hard to beat, and today we weren’t hard to beat.

“It’s very disappointing, the worst defeat, they should have done better. It was not correct, making big mistakes, not following the plan, the script and the movements that we have. We can make mistakes, but we don’t cover each other.” and it was a bad defeat.”

But what’s worrying for United? This defeat could and should have been tougher. Olise scored a brilliant goal in the 12th minute when he beat a reckless Casemiro to run into the heart of the United defense and then finished brilliantly past André Onana.

Palace added a wonderful second in the 40th minute when United managed to get into a tangle in midfield and lost the ball through Casemiro.

It left United scrambling, and all that was needed to unlock their defense was a clean pass from Chris Richards to Mateta, who comfortably slotted past Evans and past the abandoned Onana. Palace had more chances in the first half, the best perhaps being Olise’s in the 27th minute, when he pounced on a hesitant Kobbie Mainoo and ran clean towards goal, only for the ball to become tangled in an outstretched Onana.

United came out early for the second half, looking bewildered as they watched highlights of the first half on the stadium television screen while waiting for Palace. Maybe Ten Hag’s team talk at halftime would spark a fight. But any hope of a second-half resurgence was quickly halted. Palace were pressing, with Eze shooting wide after a wonderful one-two with Olise, but they got their just reward with a third when Joachim Andersen beat Diogo Dalot and gave Mitchell the chance to score his third.

And then came Olise’s second and Palace’s fourth. Casemiro, again, was at fault when he was caught by Daniel Muñoz on the flank. His inside ball found Olise, who took a couple of touches and then fired past Onana. Palace almost scored the fifth goal, with Odsonne Édouard hitting Onana’s right post with a brilliant shot in stoppage time. The old ground shook: Eye-pinching fans at Palace secured their fourth win in five under Oliver Glasner, who sparked this revival when he took charge in February.

Palace made just one change from their last series, while United’s two changes saw Mason Mount start a league match for the first time since October. They had just one outfield player over the age of 21 on the bench (Sofyan Amrabat), compared to the experience at Palace’s disposal among their replacements, which included Marc Guehi and other club stalwarts Jordan Ayew and Jeffrey Schlupp.

United had the ball in the net twice. Casemiro had a try disallowed (perhaps harshly) in the first half, as Rasmus Højlund was adjudged to have fouled goalkeeper Dean Henderson while trying to prevent a header from the Brazilian, and the makeshift centre-back was given a second half. effort disallowed for offside. But his final return of just two shots on goal showed how wasteful he was. And despite the inclusion of Casemiro and Evans in the center of United’s defence, it proved completely useless. They lacked stamina and form, balance was off with players charging out of position. And from there, its foundations collapsed, without finding coherence or understanding.

For Palace, there is an air of excitement and optimism here. This team played brilliantly: the midfield duo of Adam Wharton and Will Hughes controlled the match, and Glasner brought in an extra striker in Édouard in the second half to attack further despite being three goals up at the time, which He demonstrated his intentions here. (and his bloodlust). They are moving in an exciting direction, but this summer they will need to fend off many admirers for their wonderful talents.

But United have to get off the canvas before the knockout count and find a way back into contention for a European spot. They have Arsenal and Newcastle at Old Trafford coming up and Brighton & Hove Albion away on the final day, but unless they get some of the injured contingent back and regain some form and confidence, they risk the ignominy of this being their worst moment. some Premier League season, and with that, the pressure on Ten Hag will only increase.